osmosisnoun [ U ]
uk/ɒzˈməʊ.sɪs/us/ɑːzˈmoʊ.sɪs/osmosis noun [ U ] (LIQUID)
specialized biology the process in plants and animals by which a liquid moves gradually from one part of the body or the plant to another through a membrane (= cell covering):
Fluid flows back into the tiny blood vessels by osmosis.
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Physical & chemical processes
- addition reaction
- adiabatic
- adsorb
- advection
- alpha decay
- degradable
- diffraction
- dissolve
- exothermic reaction
- impregnate
- processus
- redox
- refraction
- rehydrate
- saponification
- scald
- secretion
- suction
- the carbon cycle
- vaporize
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osmosis noun [ U ] (IDEAS)
the way in which ideas and information gradually spread between people:
The children were never taught the songs, they just listened to other children singing them and learned them by osmosis.
Reading is not picked up by a process of osmosis, but needs to be taught.
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Learning & knowing
- assimilate
- audit
- autodidact
- blended learning
- bone up
- brain training
- by-heart
- deskill
- feel
- gen up
- hear tell (of) idiom
- know better (than sb) idiom
- knowable
- mug
- mug (sth) up
- pick sth up
- quick
- reskill
- revision
- tell
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osmotic
adjective [ before noun ] uk/ɒzˈmɒt.ɪk/us/ɑːzˈmɑː.t̬ɪk/
an osmotic process